The Paradox of Work

I know people are not overly interested in paradoxes. How do I know? Because my posts, with that word in the title, do not get a whole lotta views.

Thus, I am left with a choice. On the one hand, I could write on topics that will get views. This would be along the lines of the clickbait phenomenon.

On the other hand, I could write about what is truly important. And, this is a real challenge. Meaning, the decision between quality and quantity is far from easy. In this way I am stuck in something of a paradox of my own (actually, conundrum might be a more accurate word.)

Having said all that, I will post one last time about paradoxes. Because, if you want to truly understand life, I think you need to understand the paradox. Life is fundamentally paradoxical. I know that sound nerdy as hell, but it needs to be said.

Today's paradox, as the title indicates, is the paradox of work. This comes straight from my favorite book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

From the book, "Even when they feel good, people generally say that they would prefer not to be working, that their motivation on the job is low. The converse is also true: when supposedly enjoying their hard-earned leisure, people generally report surprisingly low moods; yet they keep on wishing for more leisure."

This is one of the central themes of the book. The idea is that leisure does not really make us happy. Csikszentmihalyi draws a distinction between pleasure and enjoyment. Leisure can be pleasurable but it is not enjoyable.

Unfortunately, most of us tend to choose pleasure over enjoyment. And, it is such a pity. We choose things that are not in our best interest. A whopper of a paradox. In a related vein, I wrote this post a few years ago.

Also, because it is closely related, let me leave you with one other example. I recently read the book The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal. And, I quite enjoyed the book. I believe understanding the upside of stress is a wise perspective to obtain.

McGonigal writes, "Research also shows that a less stressful life doesn't make people nearly as happy as they think it will. Although most people predict they would be happier if they were less busy, the opposite turns out to be true. People are happier when they are busier, even when forced to take on more than they would choose."

So, again, it is not always wise to trust our instincts. And, to bring this post full circle, my instincts tell me to go for the clicks. Isn't that what 'everyone' says we need? As for now, I think I will shoot for something more important. I think paradoxes are important. We shall see what happens.

Have a great week.